Reviews

A Waltz Through the Vapor: Piano and Chamber Music by Justin Henry Rubin

 

 

 

 

New Music Box (February 2013):

"hauntingly beautiful...gorgeous...." - Frank J.Oteri

http://www.newmusicbox.org/articles/sounds-heard-justin-rubin-a-waltz-through-the-vapor/

Nostalgia: Compositions with Bassoon and Other Chamber Music by Justin Henry Rubin

 

 

 

 

American Record Guide (January/February 2010):

"Rubin's music has inspiration and a distinct style....(he) clearly grasps the character and capabilities of each instrument he uses....This is a very good program and an inspiring appetizer to the music of Justin Rubin."

- David Schwartz

MusicWeb International (May 2010):

"This disc is for lovers of chamber music.... The pieces are diverse and ear-catching. The composer's voice is distinctive. Textures are transparent, with inventive harmony and skilful, rich counterpoint. This is chamber music of top quality."

– Oleg Ledeniov

Delire Musical (December 2009):

" I was hooked right from Night Song for Noa . And after a number of variations, bagatelles, and estampies comes the lengthy concluding piece for bassoon and organ, Un temps calme , refocusing the proceedings on a modern paradigm with a contemplative, minimal work of serene beauty. Highly recommended."

– François Couture RATED 2009 TOP 30 DEMANDING MUSIC CDs

Sequenza 21 (November 2009):

"Rubin is a composer whose oeuvre already suggests that, musically speaking, one can put new wine in old bottles without detriment....In this postmodern era, many composers, even the Neo-Romantic ones, eschew overt nostalgia or sentimentality....But Rubin's music manages a tenuous balance: channeling the nostalgic without ever cloying. This is certainly abetted by Campbell's sensitive, seamlessly accurate playing. He strikes just the right tone on the title work, allowing its gentle melodies to be poignant but never overwrought. He performs with considerably incisive flair on the wide-ranging and intriguing solo piece Recitative Styrienne and with percussionist Gene Koshinski on a series of elegantly Neo-Classical Bagatelles for Bassoon and Marimba .... Un Temps Calme , on the other hand, is in a more contemplative vein, channeling the language of Messiaen and supplying Campbell with long, supple melodies of considerable loveliness...."  

 – Christian Carey

 

Constellations: Compositions with Violin and Other Chamber Music by Justin Henry Rubin

 

 

 

Fanfare (January/February 2012):

"Rubin's music is interesting and distinctive. He knows how to write for each of the instruments he calls for and he harmonizes them well....it's very worthwhile for those who like to hear something new."

- Maria Nockin

 

Xenakis: Ensemble Music 1

 

 

 

 

American Record Guide (March/April 1998):

"...of the infamous piano piece Herma (by Iannis Xenakis)..Justin Rubin puts the piece across with cliff-edge intensity. Ditto for the concerto-like Palimpsest, which will have your neighbors heading for high ground in this take-no-prisoners performance."

– Arved Ashby

La Lettre du Musicien, Paris (March 1 - 15, 1998):

"They performed Xenakis' music with incomparable concentration and strength, with the precision of a sculptor, exactly as this incredibly virtuostic music requires. Among the six works presented in the program, Herma for piano sounded like an outright classic in Justin Rubin's interpretation which flowed so naturally..."

– Bruno Serrou

Fanfare (September/October 1996):

"Eonta...is a magnificent achievement. As with the curtain-raiser (Plekto), we again hear Justin Rubin's remarkable piano....At the concert, I'd a hard time believing how well Rubin handled his surpassingly difficult part."

– Mike Silverton

Sunday Times, Great Britain (August 25,1996):

"The earliest of the five pieces is Eonta ...with a phenomenally proliferating piano part well taken by Justin Rubin."